One of six extinct Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis) eggs in the museum collection. This 17th century specimen is the famous egg thought to have once been owned by the great 18th century Italian ...

who also crushed their single egg. The great auk has now become a powerful symbol of the damage humans can cause. Douglas Russell, Senior Curator of Birds at the Museum, says, 'The threats facing our ...

You'd never get 100% great auk… but it's hardly worth it. Even if you manage to create one or two great auks, and they lay ...

This had a terrible impact on some species. The great auk – a penguin of the north pole – was hunted to extinction for its meat and large eggs, with the last bird killed in the 1840s in St Kilda.